“Our ongoing mental monologue, when left unchecked & unguarded, can develop into a self-destructive chatter.”

Janell Kremer

The United States is facing an unprecedented mental health crisis. The crisis isn’t just affecting adults, it is devastating young people, and people from every background are impacted. People are searching for help, and now is the time for the Church to rise-up and bring the solution of the gospel to the world around them. As lovers of God, we need to understand our need for protection against the slanderer, how to wear and keep on all our armor, how to be responsible for our own thought life, and finally how to honor the sacrifice Jesus made by believing, receiving, and decreeing our salvation. Our minds are where taking authority begins, and we must start there before we can have any impact on the world around us. So, let’s discover together the incredible helmet of salvation that Jesus gives to us today and learn how to use it properly for His glory.

The Gateway of the Mind

The gates of my mind used to be defenseless. My guard was down, and chaos was unleashed to rule the roost. I had Jesus in my heart, but I did not know the first thing about allowing Him to transform my mind. My parents had taught me when fear came to fight, that I was simply to use the name of Jesus. Unfortunately, this was not enough to stop the fear in my mindset. Now, the name of Jesus is higher than any other name, and I don’t ever want to downplay the name of my Savior. However, saying His name was only part of the solution. I couldn’t just say, “JESUS!” while continuing to give worship to worry and anxiety.

There cannot be peace in one’s mind without standing up in the authority of Jesus Christ and guarding our minds by the power of the Holy Spirit. This truth is displayed for us in the words of Jesus, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27, ESV). Jesus was revealing in this passage that He was bringing us a different kind of peace, one that was different from the one the world is offering to us today. I used to think that peace meant the absence of conflict, that is until I found the biblical meaning of peace.

The word for peace in Hebrew is shalom, which means, “to destroy the authority that binds to chaos.” Chaos is what happens when somethings is outside the authority of God. Peace is the presence of God, which transforms disordered belief systems into healthy and reliable convictions based on His eternal truth. When we learn to walk inside the boundaries of grace that God has given us, we will in fact destroy all authority that has been linked with chaos. We need the supernatural protection of salvation because we are in a spiritual war. The enemy has no power to harm us unless we remove our armor and forget what Jesus has done on our behalf.

Keep it On!

If we look at the words of Paul in the book of Ephesians, we find instruction to wear all of our armor. The challenging part of that command is keeping it on. There have been many times where I have sought the Lord for clarity about a spiritual attack that was coming against me, and He asked me where I left my helmet of salvation. In a separate isolated circumstance, He has asked me where my shoes of peace had gone. With the help of the Holy Spirit, I had to retrace my steps back to the situation where I had ignorantly left my armor, and faced the enemy unguarded.

There are two illusions that Satan uses as an invitations to remove our armor. The first illusion is pride. Paul warns the church of Corinth about the error of self-deception that comes from the fleshly place of pride, which was causing division in that body of believers. Pride is an incredibly crafty sin that can cloud our judgement and ultimately bind us to chaos. When we allow pride to threaten our unity with Christ, we give Satan authority. The key to keeping our helmet of salvation on is to be transformed by the Word of God and by His Spirit. We must allow the Lord to search us and reveal any wicked way within our hearts, walking in humility before the throne of grace. There are mindsets that are rooted in pride that only God can see, and so we need His eyes and His voice to call us up and out of that self-deceptive fantasy. We cannot confront the king of pride when we have hidden pride hidden within us. Pride creates holes in our armor, and we cannot rise to victory if we are partnering with Satan in this kind of evil arrogance.

The second illusion that removes our armor is bitterness. The Bible warns us to stay away from this lure of bitterness in the book of Hebrews, “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled” (Heb. 12:15, ESV). Bitterness is one of the most common issues in the American church, which reveals the uncleanliness of the bride of Christ in this hour. In my own walk with the Lord, I’ve learned the power of constantly and consistently forgiving people of trespassing. This is something I still struggle with, and I need the Lord’s help in removing bitter roots in my heart.

One resource that is bringing insight on how to avoid the danger of bitterness is John Bevere’s book, “Bait of Satan.” I would encourage you to search for some of John Bevere’s sermons on this subject and allow the Lord to show you how to walk the path of forgiveness. As believers who are pursuing maturity in Christ, we must learn how to forgive one another and extend the gift of mercy to both believers and unbelievers. Then and only then will we be able to stand against our enemy and rise victorious.

Responsibility

We serve a God who helps us govern our thought life, however He refuses to do it for us. Free will puts us in charge of our own mindset. So, if we want to become good stewards of this inner world, then we need to give the Holy Spirit an invitation to transform our thinking. Without the help of the Holy Spirit, our minds will be unprotected, and thoughts of rejection, accusations, and identity confusion will advance and ultimately drain our mind’s energy; leaving the mind gate wide open for the enemy to do more damage. A ravaged mind in not the will of God for His people. He created our minds to be constantly refreshed with the truth, with living water. A renewed mind challenges us to adopt Heaven’s way of thinking, rather than the way of thinking that we grew up with. Our internal dialogue must align with the dialogue of Heaven which are God’s righteous principles.

The first step in guarding our mind with the helmet of salvation is to protect the places that receive information, being the ears and the eyes. Both faith and fear come by hearing. So, when a difficult season arises, we must guard carefully what and whom we are listening to. We are often unaware of what we have given permission to have a place of influence in our lives, and because of this we must ask the Holy Spirit to reveal those concealed areas where lies like to hide. It may be that you must change the music you are listening to, or the news you are watching. There may also be friendships with certain people in your life (who believe the enemy’s lies) that the Holy Spirit wants to show you how to interact with them with your supernatural helmet on. There may be some people in your inner circle that don’t belong there, and you may need to release them for a time. We all need iron sharpening friends, so, if you don’t have any at this moment, go to God in prayer and ask Him to put people in your life that will have a godly impact on your life. We need to get around people that are pursuing God in this way if we are going to remain faithful to our relationship with God and do the things that God has called us to do.

A Time to Act

When we put our helmet of salvation on as a family together, I always ask the kids to tell me what Jesus saved them from. It was more than sin; Jesus paid for your total deliverance from shame, death, fear, and sickness. He gave you the power to say no to sin, and we need to honor our Savior by receiving His full salvation and deliverance from evil. The questions that I hope you will ask the Lord today are these:

1. God, do I believe in salvation’s full deliverance? — If not — show me any lies that I am believing about what Jesus did for me.
2. God, have I received by faith, salvation’s full deliverance? — If not — show me how to receive what Jesus did for me.

After you explore this with the Lord, write down the things He has shown you. There is power in knowing your salvation, but the power cannot be released unless you open up your mouth and make declarations. We must say what God is saying! There is power in decreeing salvation’s full deliverance. Let’s begin to meditate and focus our thoughts on our liberation from darkness!

For by grace you have been saved by faith. Nothing you did could ever earn this salvation, for it was the love gift  from God that brought us to Christ!

Ephesians 2:8

And because of him, when you who are not Jews heard the revelation  of truth, you believed in the wonderful news of salvation. Now we have been stamped with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit. He is given to us like an engagement ring,  as the first installment of what’s coming! He is our hope-promise of a future inheritance  which seals us until we have all of redemption’s promises and experience complete freedom—all for the supreme glory and honor of God!

Ephesians 1:13-14

So then, prepare your hearts and minds for action! Stay alert and fix your hope firmly on the marvelous grace that is coming to you. For when Jesus Christ is unveiled, a greater measure of grace will be released to you. As God’s obedient children, never again shape your lives by the desires that you followed when you didn’t know better. Instead, shape your lives to become like the Holy One who called you. For Scripture says:
“You are to be holy, because I am holy.”

1 Peter 1:13-16

But for you who fear My name [with awe-filled reverence] the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go forward and leap [joyfully] like calves [released] from the stall. You will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this,” says the Lord of hosts.

Malachi 4:2-3

REFERENCES

“Bible Gateway Passage: John 14:27 – English Standard Version.” Bible Gateway, 2013, www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+14%3A27&version=ESV. Accessed 15 May 2023.

“Bible Gateway Passage: Hebrews 12:15 – English Standard Version.” Bible Gateway, 2013, www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+12%3A15&version=ESV. Accessed 15 May 2023.

“Ephesians 1:13-14 TPT Bible: Youversion.” The Bible App | Bible.Com, www.bible.com/bible/1849/EPH.1.TPT. Accessed 15 May 2023.

“Ephesians 2:8 TPT Bible: Youversion.” The Bible App | Bible.Com, www.bible.com/bible/1849/EPH.2.TPT. Accessed 15 May 2023.

“1 Peter 1:13-16 TPT Bible: Youversion.” The Bible App | Bible.Com, https://www.bible.com/bible/1849/1PE.1.TPT. Accessed 15 May 2023.

Malachi 4:2-3 AMP – – Bible Gateway, 2015, www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Malachi%2B4%3A2-3&version=AMP. Accessed 15 May 2023.